German Youth Protection in Games

Abstract

Games are an integral part of the everyday culture of adolescents. Videogames, however, also bring inherent risks in their wake. Since 1994 the German Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) acts as the organisation responsible for the classification of videogames in Germany. German youth protection for digital games has come a long way in the last 25 years, as games have as a medium. This article discusses how the regulation of children’s and young people’s access to games in Germany has always been closely intertwined with the societal and political views on the medium, and how public debates and changes in these perceptions have influenced youth protection practices.

Furthermore, we take a look of how the technological advances in digital game distribution yield new opportunities to create new coherent standards for safer media environments. With the right legal framework, these systems equip German youth protection institutions with the tools to overcome the challenges posed by the age of media convergence.